Perfection Doesn’t Always Work

Perfection Doesn’t Always Work

Recently I wrote an article about how I started my online business. A certain question came up that I have been asked many times. I have to say it always breaks my heart when I receive this sort of question, and at the same time I can relate.

The question I received was about not feeling like you’re at the perfect place to do what you want to do. In this situation the person writing me is a fully qualified health coach but doesn’t feel like she can pursue her dream career because she still has some health challenges and isn’t at her “perfect” weight.

This is not the first time someone has approached me with this type of dilemma, in fact it saddens me to say I hear this quite often, and not only from health coaches, but from all sorts of people who feel they need to reach a certain level of perfection before pursuing their dreams or living the life they want to live. They tell themselves that they can’t have something or do something until they have accomplished “x,” “y,” and “z.”

Unfortunately, the reality is you might be waiting a very long time before reaching that “perfection,” and for some people, when they finally do, they come up with something else that needs fixing. Many times it’s not so much the challenges that are standing in your way, the big problem is that you’re telling yourself you aren’t good enough as you are, and that you’ll only be worthy of what you want once you change.

My story

Many years ago I quit smoking and gained 30 pounds. As great as quitting smoking was, I hated all the weight I gained from it. My self-esteem crumbled. I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin, and I despised myself for letting it happen.

I refused to buy myself new clothes, I socialized less and less, and I hide myself away. I thought this would push me to lose the weight, but instead I was just punishing myself, and the worse I felt about myself, the more I ate.

This went on for years! Until one day I could no longer do it. I had been putting my life on hold in hopes of one day reaching a weight loss goal that felt miles away. Everything revolved around the weight loss goal and as the years passed with no progress, so was my life passing me by.

I could no longer live like this, and I decided I needed to stop worrying about my weight and start living my life. I went out and bought nice clothes, I pushed myself to socialize and make friends, I travelled, I dated. Instead of waiting to lose weight so I could live again, I started living life first. And you know what, I became a much happier person, and eventually the weight melted off on it’s own. If only I had known this years prior, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time punishing myself or waiting for the “right time.”

This story might sound silly to some people, but I know I’m not the only person that has struggled with this. I also know this a current reality for many people. And yes, when we take ourselves out of the situation and see it for what it is, we can come up with a much better solution, but sometimes it’s easier said than done.

To anyone who has a certain ideal or thinks they need to be “perfect” before doing something, I challenge you to go for what you want without being “perfect,” and see what happens.

We know that using our strengths is the surest way to succeed, so why do we focus so much on our weaknesses?

For more on my view of perfection, watch today’s video below!

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